[blparent] [Bulk] "General public" and their impressions

Tue Jun 9 11:41:07 UTC 2009

Unless and until a social worker actually takes your baby from 
you, this is ignorants, not discrimination.
I believe that any one dealing with the public should avail 
themselves of a Handicapped Awareness 101 course.

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Eileen Levin" <eileenlevin at comcast.net
>To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org
>Date sent: Sat, 6 Jun 2009 16:14:44 -0400
>Subject: Re: [blparent] [Bulk]  "General public" and their 
impressions

>Like JoElizabeth  my sighted husband was there and we received no 
visit from
>a social worker at all.  I hadn't taken any classes, asked to 
leave the day
>after my son was born, and the staff all seemed to be directing 
their
>lessons to my extremely anxious sighted husband.  The staff's 
tendancy to
>ignore me while teaching my husband never meant anything to me 
since I
>already knew how to change a diaper and bathe a baby from helping 
my mother
>with my two younger sisters.  I think there was a note posted on 
my door from
>the staff about my blindness which my husband questioned as soon 
as he saw
>it.

>So, is there discrimination? From all this anecdotal evidence it 
appears the
>answer is YES YES and YES.
>Eileen
>-----Original Message-----
>From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
>Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 12:56 PM
>To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [blparent] [Bulk] "General public" and their 
impressions

>I was lucky enough not to get much interference from social 
workers when
>Sarah was born.  I don't know if it was because her sighted 
father was there

>most of the time or what.  There was a doctor who asked if I 
would have help

>at home.  I said yes, and he didn't ask any more questions.  
(Personally, I
>think whether there will be help is a valid question for any new 
mom,
>sighted or blind, especially now that I've been through the 
newborn phase
>myself.)  Nobody asked me if I had everything ready for the baby, 
which I
>did, and the nurses spent a lot of time trying to help me get 
nursing
>established, with no comment about my blindness.  The only social 
worker I
>saw asked me about financial issues, but Gerald and I made too 
much to
>qualify for the hospital's sliding scale.  It was nice to have 
such a
>positive experience at the hospital.  I think part of the reason 
everything
>went so well is that I took not only the childbirth classes, but 
also the
>baby care and breastfeeding courses, and I had a tour of the 
maternity ward
>and asked a lot of questions, so by the time I delivered my baby, 
I was kind

>of a familiar face to many of the staff, and they knew I was 
taking my new
>role as a mother seriously.

>Jo Elizabeth

>"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be 
changed
>until it is faced."--James Baldwin
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Melissa Ann Riccobono" <melissa at riccobono.us
>To: "'NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org
>Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 6:47 AM
>Subject: Re: [blparent] [Bulk] "General public" and their 
impressions

>> It's interesting about hospital social workers.  I actually was 
lucky
>> enough
>> to have a good experience with the social worker who visited me 
after
>> Austin
>> was born.  She seemed to stick to standard questions.  She did 
ask if I
>> had
>> everything ready for the baby; actually she didn't quite put it 
that way.
>> She asked if we had a crib or a bassinette, a car seat, etc.  I 
could hear
>> that she was taking notes and checking things off a list.  The 
hospital
>> where Austin was born often deals with high risk and very poor 
moms and
>> dads, so I felt a lot of the questions were based on the fact 
that so many
>> people who pass through really do need a lot more help and 
services.  I
>> was
>> also offered WIC.  I don't know if this was standard or not, but 
I just
>> said
>> I knew we made too much to qualify and I was left alone.  The 
person who
>> made me the most nervous was a doctor--not the one who delivered
>> Austin--who
>> kept asking if I had help at home, and if I thought I could 
manage because
>> of my "handicap."  Luckily, even though I was still in labor and 
not in
>> the
>> best mood, I managed to answer him calmly and firmly and nothing 
else was
>> said.  Then there was this extremely annoying nurse who was 
completely
>> thrilled because I could find the toilet paper in the bathroom 
and I
>> "navigated so well!"  She questioned my ability to nurse because 
it's "a
>> very visual thing to know when the baby's mouth is open so you 
can stick
>> the
>> nipple in.  Are you really committed to nursing?"  Thank 
goodness I knew
>> my
>> sister, who is also blind, nursed three babies successfully, and 
that I
>> was
>> committed to nursing unless there really was a reason I 
couldn't--such as
>> my
>> body not making enough milk, or Austin really having 
difficulties of some
>> other kind.  So, I was firm on that point as well.  It is 
amazing though
>> simply how uneducated the public is!  I love the people who ask 
me if I
>> had
>> someone come in to "adapt" my house for the baby.  Yes, there 
are child
>> proofing companies and they are great if you want to use them, 
but I think
>> it's crazy for people to believe that just because we're blind 
we don't
>> know
>> what is dangerous for a baby or small child.
>> Melissa

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